


Tip Me Over

by soda_coded



Category: Control (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Office, Co-workers, Gen, Government Agencies, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Mindfuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:01:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21854158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soda_coded/pseuds/soda_coded
Summary: An alternate ending to the game, post the credits.
Relationships: Casper Darling/Jesse Faden
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Tip Me Over

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this really sad tweet that was just like, in a stream of somebody live tweeting their playthrough. The last one in the thread said 'Haven't found Darling yet, and I've looked eveywhere'.
> 
> Same, honestly.
> 
> I wish my job was a hiss hallucination.

She’d collected the coffee cups. She’d delivered the mail. 

Jesse stood, hands clasped uncomfortably in front of her, unsure of what to do. Of where to go, now that she’d finished the tasks assigned her. She wanted so badly to do well here. To fit in. Jesse adjusted the starched collar of her shirt, tried not to listen to the hiss of whispers coming from the women gathered beside the water coolers.

“What are you still doing up here?” 

Jesse whipped around, shoulders hunching up to her ears, taking in Emily’s pallid, angry expression. “I-”

“Darling sent for you, almost five minutes ago.” She told her brusquely. Jesse tried to smile. People always told her that they preferred her when she smiled. “Well? Go!”

Jesse startled, feet moving ahead of her brain as she walked quickly for the elevator. “Yes ma’am. Thank you, ma'am.”

She made it into the elevator just before it closed, a single hissed ‘Suck up!’ following through the closing gap. 

It was just so  _ hard _ to smile sometimes.

Hard to  _ think _ here, too. The days just seemed to bleed together. This was the first time she’d been asked for personally, though. And for the department she was most interested in- Research, where all the fun things were kept.

Jesse frowned. Why did she know that? Someone must have told her. She’d never been below the executive branch before. Sometimes it felt like she’d been hired just to make coffee, and deliver mail.

The elevator rocked to a stop, the doors sliding open to let more people on, and Jesse kept her eyes down as they entered, not wanting trouble. Nobody spoke to her. Maybe it was better that way. Was it better to stand out in a new job, or not? Jesse hadn’t ever known the answer. Was it vain to want to be liked? She just wanted to be competent.

The elevator juddered to a stop once more, and an elbow planted itself in her side as everyone shifted to make room for more people crowding in. Jesse flattened herself as close to the wall as she could. This was taking so long, and Emily had made it seem like she was already late. That tone that meant she’d fucked up already.

Had she… worked with Emily before?

Must have, Jesse thought uneasily. From back here she couldn’t even see how many floors she had left until the Research Department. Had she remembered to push the button even?

Yes. Of course. She’d been alone in the elevator originally.

How many more stops until hers? How many floors down was she? She tried to remember the layout, but she was new-

-the elevator rocked to a stop. Her stop, she knew, was certain for some reason, but more people were piling on, and there was barely standing room.

“Excuse me.” She tried, but no one moved, and the doors were going to close, and she’d never gotten a chance to meet the illustrious Dr. Darling, but she was sure she wanted to, if she ever wanted to do more than empty and refill filters on the ancient coffee machines. “Please, I’m sorry, this is my floor-”

“Jesus, okay.” The person beside her snapped, stepping to the side. Now everyone was looking at her, and Jesse shuffled forward, stumbling as they closed ranks behind her. Not their fault it was so crowded. She caught the closing door with her hand, and stepped into the hallway, as one of the people who’d just entered sighed, “Any day now, new girl.”

“Sorry.” She said, but the doors had already snapped shut in her face, leaving her in the cold, empty hallway. Jesse shivered. She wondered how long she’d have to work here before she could request a jacket. Maybe it was a seniority thing, or maybe she’d have to buy it…? She tried to remember what they’d told her… in the… interview…

“Hurry up, he’s waiting!” A lab technician snapped as they strode passed, arms filled with some sort of mechanical array. “End of the hall!”

“Of course!” Jesse said, remembering herself. God, she’d wanted this job for so long, why was she such a screw up? She turned on her heel, shoes squeaking on the polished tile, and walked quickly, at almost a run to the end of the hallway. More technicians were running past her in the opposite direction, all of them loaded with equipment of varying types, harried expressions darting past her. God, how late was she?

The doors at the end of the hall were huge, clear glass panels, stained a warm sepia, and when Jesse opened them, they moved soundlessly, like she hadn’t walked through anything at all. More people piled out of the open door, forcing her to hold it for a long moment, as they wheeled a cart stacked high with TVs past her. She didn’t have time for this… but it was better not to be rude.

When she let go, the door screeled along the floor, catching on the carpet, causing the busy room to turn and stare as she tried to kick the carpet flat and free it. Jesse burned with embarrassment. Well, at least he’d know she was-

“Finally!” Jesse straightened quickly, and turned to the voice. She recognized him right away from the- the- the v i d e o s-

“Ah!” A spike of red hot pain in her temples, and Jesse flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. God, not a migraine now-

“Are you okay?” Darling asked. She recognized him from the portraits in the lobby. His voice was kind, but indifferent.

“Yes, I’m so sorry sir-”

“Call me Darling.” He said, and Jesse smiled, unsure of whether she should have when he didn’t smile back. “You know why you’re here, of course?”

“Um, no…”

“You didn’t read the information I sent you?” Darling asked, disappointment coloring his tone, and Jesse shook her head again. What information? Where would he have sent it, she didn’t even have a desk. “Well, that’s fine. I probably expected too much. Still, nothing like hands on learning I suppose.”

Darling winked, now smiling, and Jesse smiled back, more uncertainly. He was hard to read, eyes quick things behind his big square glasses. She wondered what he’d look like with round ones. Friendlier, maybe. Less professional-

“Alright, well come this way to my office, so we can get you in the know.” He turned, lab coat flaring behind him as he strode away from her, forcing her to step fast to keep up. The lab around them seemed to be being completely dismantled, people emptying filing cabinets, and taking down computer systems.

“What’s happening?” She asked, and Darling stopped abruptly, causing her to almost run directly into him. 

“Movie night, of course.” He said, and something about his smile… “We like to set up a projector in the Nostalgia Dept., every once in a while. Did no one invite you?”

Jesse shook her head, hair falling into her eyes, as she looked at her feet. 

No. No one had invited her.

“Still don’t know anyone, huh?” Darling asked, his voice blandly concerned, and Jesse nodded. “It’s okay. Takes me a while to make friends too.”

Jesse looked up at this, and he was smiling again, that same soft, overtly interested smile. 

He seemed... nice?

Darling turned without waiting for a response, and it was getting quieter around them as the lab emptied of people and things. He wove them past tables, winding steps leading her around now uncluttered workstations until he reached the separate office Jesse assumed to be his, the door opened a crack. She followed him inside, Darling flicking the light switch as they entered.

“What-”

“Are you ready?” Darling asked, and Jesse stared at the x-ray machine glowing in the center of the room. Illuminated on the screen was skull shown in profile, missing a considerable chunk out of the back. 

“Am I-”

“Surely Emily at least explained  _ that _ . I assumed it was why you were late…”

“No-”

“You’ve been chosen. Well, I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.” Darling laughed at his own joke, and Jesse felt something cold grow in her stomach at the sound. She shouldn’t have come down here, she thought with a sudden cold fear. Stupid. Where else could she have gone? This job was her life… “Our last volunteer had a small… accident when we tried my newest experiment, and this really must happen before movie night.”

“What kind of accident?” Jesse dared to ask, her mouth dry.

“Oh, it isn’t anything serious.” Darling said. Met her eyes, and Jesse felt a chill run down her spine. This wasn’t Darling. He wasn’t- he didn’t l o o k li k e th i ssssssss

“Nn!” Jesse bent at the waist, gripping her head. God, that hurt. Like ssssso much sssstatic-

“Jesse.” 

She looked up at the man standing in front of her. Darling was looking down at her, eyes dark.

“You want to make friends here, don’t you?”

_ 'No!' Jesse screamed, lost to the red in her own mind. _

“Yes.” Jesse said. He nodded.

“Than you probably need to get a little better at not asking so many questions.” Darling said silkily, and Jesse looked at him, straightening slowly as the spike of pain in her head faded. “We need you to take a message to the Astral plane.”

“We?”

“Yessss.” Darling said, and something about the corners and angles of his next smile were so horrifying it hurt Jesse to look at him. She gulped in a breath, tried to focus on what he was saying. Darling always made sense, was one of the only people in this damn place who told her anything, and he wasn’t… evvve n h e r e…

_ 'This isn’t- _

-ssssssSssss-

_ -right, it’s not-' _

-sssSSSSSSS-

“No.” Jesse said, and then again, louder. “No, this isn’t- something’s wrong- my head-”

“You’ve hardly been here long enough for a sick day.” Darling said cooly. “You do want to be a part of the Bureau, don’t you, Jesse?”

“Yes.” Jesse gasped. “Please. I just. I don’t  _ feel- _ ”

“Hmm.” Darling said consideringly. “Well. I suppose, if you really aren’t up for it, a pretty girl like you always has  _ other _ options.”

What?

Jesse stared at him for a long moment, while Darling’s smile slowly drooped into his goatee, his eyes fixed on her face. It left his face uncomfortably blank, still in the way that static was, and Jesse found herself unable to look away. 

“I don’t-” She tried weakly, and Darling spoke over her.

“You know what I mean, don’t you Jesse?” He sounded like he was smiling, but when he reached out, placing a cold hand on her arm, Jesse flinched. “I’m sure you’re a professional. The Bureau hires nothing lessss.”

The sound made her jerk, pulling her arm back, and finally Darling’s face broke from that still mask, to a frown that was worse than his smile-

_ Jesse liked that smile, watched it cast across the Bureau walls, still shaky from the last firefight. Before entering this building she’d never shot a gun- _

-and turned his back to her as she grimaced, clutching for her head once more. It was like her head was splitting, or fracturing, or cracking leaking poissson gassss-

-SSSSSSSS-

‘This isn’t right!’ Jesse thought, hysterically. ‘I’m not some new girl, anymore!’

“Or maybe not.” Darling said, and even hearing this twisted washed out version of him, with his hideous glasses and horrifying smile sound so disappointed in her hurts. “I suppose I made a mistake requesting you.”

“Damn right you did.” Jesse said, and her hand curled around her gun before it existed, fired as it formed in her palm.

The gas poured out of her brain, reality flickering around her. Her head ached, and she wished more than anything that Polaris was here in her head to help clear the air. Offer her that ringing clarity, she only got from the others guidance.

“Fuck.” Jesse whispered shakily. Darling’s office was back to it’s familiar disarray, the open foreplan comforting after the shadowed angles of the office her mind had trapped her in. She ran a hand over her face, and turned letting her hip rest on his desk for a moment trying to calm her racing heart. Jesse had dealt with scummy bosses before, but she hadn’t expected the Hiss to- and with  _ Darling’s face- _

She shuddered. She knew she liked his videos a little too much. Hadn’t let herself think about it. Hadn’t had the time. God, she needed a drink-

Turned to look at Darling’s desk consideringly, and after a brief shuffling of drawers found the crystal decanter she’d seen in one of his videos. It was even cool from the constant chill of the Bureau. Tipped her head back to take a swig, and saw the cord dangling just above her.

“Okay.” Jesse said, wiping off her mouth with her sleeve. Took another mouthful before setting it down on Darling’s desk. Not like he was going to use it, wherever he was now. “Fuck. Fine.”

Reached above her head, and pulled.

Once.

Twice.

Three times-

-and the motel flickered warmly into view around her. Jesse felt something in her chest lighten, although she wasn’t sure if it was Oceanview itself, or Darling’s excellent whiskey. Didn’t matter, really. For even a moment, and even superficially she was relieved to be free of the Bureau.

She moved toward the front desk, and paused for a moment, before ringing the bell lightly once. She could hear the first door click open, swinging soundlessly inward, telling her she was welcome.

And then, the three note chime, that signaled another small vlog from the Research Department. Another informal love letter from Darling, married to his work. She hesitated, remembering the angles of his face as he’d stared at her, hand on her arm. 

“Jesse?”

She started at the sound of her name, in his voice. The real him, this time, hesitant and self-deprecating. Charming, in an awkward way. 

“I’m going crazy.” She told herself. Only herself, and the empty space Polaris left in her ached.

She followed the sound, peeked into the room, and stared at the image of Darling, taking up an entire wall peering back. 

“Well. Hedron told me it would call you here. That it would help you… help us.” He laughed a little, tired. “I don’t know what good it will do- what there will be left of the Bureau to find.”

His eyes searched hers, as though he could see her in the lens of his camera.

“I hope you don’t hate us.” He said finally, and her breath caught in her throat at the uncomfortable honesty in his words.

Three chimes again, and the ending board for all the Bureau videos played. 

Jesse walked back to the front desk. Rang the bell again.

Ding, ding,  _ ding _ .

This time she was already walking for the room as the familiar sound began out. She wanted to know. These were for her.

“Clothes. Toothbrush. Whiskey, hah. Oxygen tank. Camera.” This time, he didn’t seem to be aware the camera was on, and Jesse took a moment to study the profile of his features, without the persona he put on for his videos. The fine line of his nose, his dark eyes, the way his mustache twitched as he re-examined what looked like luggage. It took her a moment to realize his background had changed. He was no longer filming from his nook of an office at the Bureau, surrounded by spider webbing information.

He'd been here. At the motel.

“You have no idea what you’re in for.” He whispered suddenly, seemingly to himself, and the video cut to black.

Jesse sprinted for the bell. 

Slapped her hand on it, rule of three, and was running back. No chimes, and for a moment she thought there wouldn't be a third video…

And then she heard the noise.

The camera was behind him, Darling sitting on the edge of the bed, only the rocking movement of his shoulder giving away what he was doing. Jesse felt her breath catch, and for a moment her feet turned away from the door, as though she was intruding even now. Had he known this was being recorded? How had it even  _ gotten _ here. 

“Nnn!” He grunted, loud in the still of the motel, and Jesse’s face flamed.  _ Jesus _ . You’re such a weirdo, Jesse, she thought despairingly. Shifted guiltily watching his back relax, the soft panting of his satisfied breath. Was still watching as the panting changed to weeping, his dirtied hand clenched in the motel’s bedspread.

Cut to black, again. No credits for this production. Jesse’s body felt warm all over, and she shook her head. Was she still in her own mind? Was any of this even real? 

Was she even real anymore without Polaris.

She turns from the door and something catches her eye. The door to the room across from this one is cracked. 

From behind it, familiar ringing chimes, the three times beep of a love note. 

Jesse runs to them.

“You made it!” Darling told her, even as Polaris filled her with sweeping indescribable joy. “Hedron knew you would!”

Jesse Polaris floated to the floor, feet touching the ground slowly. It should be hard to meet his eyes- she’d seen him at his worst. 

“Hello, Darling. It's nice to meet you." She said instead, and Polaris hummed in her blood. “Are you ready to go home?”


End file.
